Farewell to director Märki: Cottbuser Theater is breaking new ground!

Farewell to director Märki: Cottbuser Theater is breaking new ground!

Cottbus, Deutschland - After five years of intensive and creative work, Stephan Märki says goodbye today as director of the State Theater Cottbus. Under his leadership, which began with the 2020/2021 season, the theater has undergone a significant transformation. In the afternoon the last performance took place under his direction, an event that moved both the audience and the critics. Märki, 70 years old, has decided not to extend his expiring contract and sees it as a suitable time to hand over the staff to his successors. In the next season, Hasko Weber will take over the management before Berthold Schneider will take over the helm at this traditional house from summer 2026. Tagesspiegel reports that ...

Minister of Culture Manja Schüle (SPD) emphasized the central role of the State Theater for Cottbus, especially with regard to the ongoing structural change in the city. After difficult times, the theater managed to sit down on the nationwide theater map and to develop a new artistic identity. The increasing demand for high -quality culture shows that the Cottbus acting is very popular again.

The path of Märki

Stephan Märki looks back on an impressive career. Before his time in Cottbus, he worked, among other things, director of the Hans Otto Theater in Potsdam and general director at the German National Theater in Weimar and Bern. His professional stations reflect his commitment to the theater landscape in Germany. Märki plans to bring his experiences and creativity into a staging of "Tristan and Isolde" at the National Opera in Seoul. This shows once again that his work beyond Cottbus will promote events and exchange.

The relevance of theaters is currently also evident in research. A recently published publication addresses the legitimacy crisis of publicly supported theater in Germany and highlights the changed expectations and perceptions of the theater offer in society. These questions are particularly important for facilities such as the Cottbus State Theater, which must adapt continuously in order to meet the small but homogeneous target group. [Uni Hildesheim reports that …] (Https://www.uni-hildesheim.de/fb2/institute/kulturpolitik/aktuelles/das-unzichtbaresheater-heater-kulturscheitel-als-Ausloeser-von-anfitungs-und-inovation processes-an-oeffent-heatern-in-deutschland/)

look into the future

For the coming years, the Cottbus State Theater will remain an exciting place of artistic work. The successful structural change, which was initiated by the management of Märki, will have to be continued. It will be important to develop the right strategies in order to bring the different expectations and needs of the audience and theater makers together: inside. In this way, the State Theater can continue to be a central point of contact for cultural experiences in the region. LR Online reports that ...